Syringe cleaner



w. A. JOHNSON SYRINGE CLEANER May 19, 1953 l2 sheets-sheet 1 7V Jil.

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A INVENTOR. ML ro/v A? 1/slow Fild Oct. 24, 1949 May l19`, 1953 w. A. JOHNSON 2,638,612

SYRINGE CLEANER Filed Oct. 24, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 4H To/v E JH/vSo/v www Patented May 19, 17953 oFFic-s are SY'RINGE CLEANER; Walton A. Johnson, Elbertzon, Ga.

Application October 24, 1949, Serial No. 1.233.238

1 Claim.

My present invention relates to the generalclass ofV portable., motor-operated appliances of the liquid treatment type for brushing and cleansing the. interior surfaces o hollow or tubular work, and more specically to a syringe cleanser, or electricallyoperated brushing appliance, which, while well adapted for various purposes and uses is especially designed for proiessional use. by nursesand others in hospitales laboratorliisy and other institutions for maintaining. hollowl instruments in sanitary condition.

In actual use in a hospital the. removable parts orf a typical hypodermic syringe. or injector are separated, the needle and plunger are cared lor, andi the hollow cylinder of the syringe dipped into a vliquid cleanser, the liquid content-issealed or closed by a linger or thumb against the outer end of the cylinder, and then the cylinder is manually slipped up and over a rotating brush. The loaded cylinder is thus held for a period of time until the internal surface of the cylinder has been cleansed of any oily film, or other residue; the work is then manually withdrawn from the rotating brush, any remaining liquid is emptied from the washed cylinder, and the cylinder is rinsed in a bath of hot water to insure sanitary working condition for subsequent use.

The primary purpose of the invention is the production of a power operated and manually controlled brushing appliance to which the work is manually applied, and which consists of a minimum number of parts that may with facility be manufactured at comparatively low cost of production, and the parts may be assembled with convenience to assure safety for the operator and a quick and thorough cleansing of the hollow ware. To this end the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts as will hereinafter be described and more particularly set forth in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a dual brush appliance constructed and arranged in accord with one mode I have devised for the practical application of the principles of the invention, but it will be understood that changes and alterations are contemplated and may be made in these structures, within the scope oi my claim, without departing from the principles of the invention.

Figure l is a view in iront elevation oi the portable appliance in which the invention is ein-- bodied.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional View of the structure of Fig. 1.

Figure 3: is an enlarged, detail elevation, with parts in sect-ion or one of the dual brushes and its holder; and

Figure 4 is a View of a typical glass' hypodermic syringe an example of the work to be cleansed.

The operating parts of the appliance are ericlosed within an open iront and preferably open top housing or cabinet that may rt upon a table, or be suspended from a support, and` adiacent to a lavatory; and in position where it is readily accessible for use. The housing, which may be fashioned of' suitable material and in required size, has a rear upright or perpendicu lar wall' l", and two laterallyy spaced side walls 2i, that provide guards against splashings from the liquid cleansers. as well as safety shields for the brushes, and a horizontal bottom 3. At the open front of the housing its bottoni terminates in a iront upright retaining ange or lip 4 to prevent displacement of two liquid containers, as an alcohol tray 5 having a sponge 6 deposited therein, and a liquid soap tray l; and these removable trays with their contents form a bottom for the operating space within the housing.

In order to graphically illustrate the utility of the brushing appliance a glass syringe is shown in Fig. 4, from which the separated needle N is temporarily stowed in the sponge e, and when the plunger P' is removed from the tube or hollow cylinder C, the cylinder is initially dipped by hand into the contents of the alcohol tray in preparation for a brushing operation. After this first operation, the cylinder may be dipped into the liquid-soap tray to make ready for the second brushing operation.

One or more brushes of standard, type and varying sizes are mounted within the housing by means of a single bracket as lil that is fastened by screws or screw bolts l! and nuts I2 against the inner face of the rear upright wall in the upper part of the housing. The rotary brushes and 9 are operated with power from a typical electric motor i3 that is mounted on the bracket with screws or bolts, and the motor is equipped with a manual switch it, and connections l5 for plugging into a customary electrical Outlet box as a source of supply.

The electric motor is rigidly mounted with its shaft i6 disposed in a plane oblique to the perpendicular rear upright wall of the housing, and the brush 8, which is axially alined with the shaft, thus declines forwardly toward the open front of the housing, with its free end terminat- 'ing at a convenient elevation above the bottom trays, 5 and l. By this combination and arrangement of parts within the housing ample free space is provided for the operator in order that the cylinder may be dipped into one of the trays, upended, and then slipped over a brush, as 8, and with equal facility the cylinder may be manipulated for cleansing, and then withdrawn from the brush.

For the brush 8 a tubular holder l1 is attached by set screw I8 to the motor shaft I6, and the lower end of the holder is equipped with a chuck including a knurled nut I9 having a tapered end and threaded on the holder, and the nut clamps a resilient head 2|, slotted at 22, on the inserted stem 23 of the brush, a guide stem 24 of the head being employed for centering the clamp head. The rigidly mounted motor provides a stable support for the rotary shaft and the axially alined holder and brush and the rotary motion and power from the shaft are transmitted directly to the holder and its brush.

The larger brush 9, arranged in parallelism with the brush 8, and spaced therefrom, is preferably driven at a lower speed than the smaller brush, by means of a belt drive from the motor shaft through drive pulley 25, which is fixed in adjusted position on the shaft by set screw 26, through belt 21 and a larger pulley 28 xed by set screw 29 on a driven shaft 38.

The rotary driven shaft 89 is mounted in a suitable ball bearing 3l that is disposed in an oblique plane land attached by screws as 3'2 to the bracket, to position the driven shaft and brush 9 in parallelism with the motor shaft and brush 8.

A second tubular brush holder 33 is fixed by set screw 34 on the driven shaft, and the brush 9 is clamped to the holder by a chuck including the clamp nut 35 and resilient slotted head 36 4 into which the stem 31 of the brush is clamped and rigidly held.

The brushes, which are quickly detachable, may be interchanged with other types of brushes in adapting them to diierent kinds of work, and they may readily be replaced when worn; and the trays may be supplied with appropriate treating liquids required for use under variable conditions.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a syringe cleaner including an open-front housing, an electric motor mounted therein, and a motor shaft, the combination with a tubular holder detachably mounted on the shaft, and a rotary brush having a stem axially alined with the holder, of a resilient clamp head on the stem, an elongated and tubular lock-nut threaded on the holder, and said lock-nut having a free end embracing the resilient head for clamping said head on the brush-stem.

. WALTON A. JOHNSON.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 630,843 Barbero Aug. 15, 1899 1,482,489 Valerius Feb. 5, 1924 1,689,727 Johnson Oct. 30, 1928 1,757,909 Kazazian May 6, 1930 1,824,328 Cammann Sept. 22, 1931 1,951,273 Dalgleish Mar. 13, 1934 1,977,419 Adams Oct. 16, 1934 2,060,277 Butts Nov. 10, 1936 2,253,855 Harback Aug. 26, 1941 2,402,859 Webber June 25, 1946 

